Poco F6 Review: The Fastest Phone in its Class

Value When Reviewed

Not out there in US

The secret for Poco is efficiency at a low-to-mid-range value, and the Poco F6 is without doubt one of the greatest examples of this but. However in a mid-range subject that has gotten actually sturdy previously 12 months, I’m beginning to surprise if that’s sufficient.

Final yr we praised the Poco F5 for its potent efficiency, speedy charging, and dependable battery life, however the easy reality is that our expectations for mid-range telephones have risen since then. The likes of the Pixel 7a and the Samsung Galaxy A55 have delivered sturdy notes of ‘flagship’ for lower than £450.

The Poco F6 goes quicker and higher on the elements that make for a compelling media expertise – the processor and the show – however is that also sufficient even with a uncommon value drop to £399?

Design & Construct

• Drab plastic design
• Improved IP64 certification
• No 3.5mm headphone jack

It’s a case of nip and tuck quite than wholesale change in relation to the Poco F6’s design, with a well-recognized – dare I say uninteresting? – all-plastic construct.

The body is flat-edged, whereas the rear cowl has a slight curve to it. My mannequin is available in a quite drab black with the slightest of shimmers. Alternatively, you possibly can go for Inexperienced or the brand-new Titanium.

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

These round digicam modules are manner bigger than they must be, although there’s one thing pleasing about that large ring doughnut of a flash and the open-mouth face it creates when seen in panorama.

It is a fractionally smaller telephone than earlier than by each metric, although at 160.5 x 74.4 x 7.8mm and 179g we actually are speaking about small variations. It’s strong sufficient within the hand, and construct high quality has taken a step ahead with IP64 certification and a Corning Gorilla Glass Victus entrance – two issues even the Poco F6 Professional can’t boast.

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Nevertheless, there’s no getting away from the truth that the Poco F6 doesn’t look or really feel nearly as good as different telephones in its weight class. Not with the Pixel 8a and the Samsung Galaxy A55 positioned simply above it, and the Motorola Edge 40 Neo and the Nothing Telephone (2a) just under it.

Unhealthy information for old style headphones customers: after restoring the three.5mm headphone jack to the Poco F5, the agency has as soon as in opposition to stripped it out for the Poco F6. Usually, that’s now not the key omission that it was, however the Poco model tends to market itself as gamer-focused, and wired headphones are a well-liked selection.

Display screen & Audio system

• 6.67in 120Hz OLED
• 2712 x 1220 ‘1.5K’ decision
• Color correct with loads of customisation potential
• Stereo audio system

Poco may not have finished a lot with the essential look of the F6, however vogue was by no means actually this sub-brand’s concern. The place it’s made extra significant enhancements is with the telephone’s show.

It’s one other 6.67in AMOLED display with a fluid 120Hz refresh price, however this time it is available in with a sharper 2712 x 1220 (1.5K) decision. This seems like one thing of a candy spot between FHD+ and QHD+.

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

The brightness has additionally been cranked up, not less than in HDR situations the place the claimed peak has hit 2400 nits. In typical utilization that peak is 500 nits, which is about what I recorded.

Xiaomi (nonetheless the manufacturing companion for Poco units) at all times supplies sturdy color accuracy with its price range sub-brands, and the Poco F6 hits an sRGB gamut protection of 96.4% within the suitably title sRGB color mode, in addition to an excellent common Delta E of 1. The telephone gives a number of the greatest color tone-tweaking instruments, too, so you possibly can ramp these tones up when you want.

There’s correct stereo sound from twin audio system, with one at both finish of that show. Stereo separation is sweet, however the sound lacks the depth and punch of extra premium telephones – as is typical.

Specs & Efficiency

• Snapdragon 8s Gen 3
• 8 or 12 GB of RAM
• 256 or 512GB storage

Poco telephones have at all times slapped in relation to efficiency, however the Poco F6 takes the sequence to new heights. It’s one of many first telephones to make use of the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chip, a barely stripped again tackle Qualcomm’s present flagship SoC discovered in lots of flagships.

In a £399 handset, that is fairly excellent. It ends in benchmark scores that high even the likes of the Poco X6 Professional and the Pixel 8a, that are two of the extra spectacular mid-range performers on the market.

This manifests in silky efficiency all through, with hitch-free navigation, easy animated house display transitions, and prompt app booting. Straight from set-up, every part pops, and it makes one thing just like the Samsung Galaxy A55, which locations its emphasis elsewhere, really feel fairly wallowy by comparability.

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Hearth up a sophisticated 3D recreation like Wreckfest or Genshin Affect, in the meantime, and also you’ll have the ability to crank all the settings as much as the very highest they nonetheless provide a easy body price.

Poco claims that a part of that is right down to ‘WildBoost Optimization 3.0’, a customized in-house algorithm that permits high-end gaming efficiency even at that elevated 1.5K display decision. It additionally factors to an IceLoop vapor-liquid cooling system – additionally discovered on the Xiaomi 14 – which goals to enhance warmth dissipation.

Regardless of the trigger, the Poco F6 is undoubtedly working at nigh-on flagship ranges of efficiency. When you’re in search of the quickest telephone potential on your £399, that is nearly as good because it will get proper now.

Poco F6 benchmarks

Cameras

• 50Mp primary digicam with OIS
• 8Mp ultra-wide, 20Mp selfie
• 4K video at 60fps

You need to know the deal you’re making while you purchase a Poco telephone. In return for scorching efficiency relative to its friends, you’ll have to settle for an at greatest mediocre digicam setup.

The Poco F6 doesn’t change that reality, although that’s to not say enhancements haven’t been made. Certainly, with a brand new 50Mp Sony IMX882 primary sensor with an f/1.59 aperture and OIS, it’s a transparent step ahead from the Poco F5.

However the Poco F6 isn’t actually competing with itself, and rivals just like the Samsung Galaxy A55 and the Pixel 7a take extra completed images.

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Pictures taken in good lighting look fairly vibrant and detailed. Shut-up meals snaps look good and appetising, even in modest indoor lighting. A detailed-up I took of a dandelion made the topic pop with baggage of bokeh, and color tones are usually pure sufficient – if slightly punchy on the inexperienced aspect.

As soon as the sunshine drops and also you activate Evening mode, nonetheless, the outcomes aren’t too sizzling. Objects aren’t too distinct, there’s baggage of noise within the skies, and I picked up some bizarre visible artefacts.

The 8Mp ultra-wide actually isn’t as much as a lot, serving as a lot as a placeholder as anything. Credit score to Xiaomi’s tone matching, not less than, with a commendable try to even out the look of each cameras regardless of the evident disparity in high quality.

Kudos, too, for the ditching of the pointless macro digicam. There’re simply two cameras right here, as there needs to be.

Selfies from the 20Mp entrance digicam aren’t too dangerous in any respect, when you knock that beautifying impact on the pinnacle. Certain, they’re slightly washed out, however pores and skin tones are fairly pure, and the Portrait mode separates the topic from the background fairly properly.

One noteworthy aspect impact of that flagship-derived chip is which you can shoot 4K video at 60fps and tremendous slo-mo 1080p movies at 240fps, which isn’t a typical provision at this value.

Battery Life & Charging

• 5000mAh battery
• 90W charging
• Charger and cable included

Poco has as soon as once more given the F6 a capacious 5000mAh battery, nevertheless it faces a really apparent problem from the off. That sharper 1.5K show is chucking round a good few extra pixels than earlier than, which invariably locations a larger pressure on battery life.

Balancing that out is a near-flagship-grade processor with all of the energy-efficient trappings that this entails. As such, parity with the Poco F5 would have been an excellent consequence.

Parity has not been achieved, however in lighter on a regular basis use you most likely gained’t discover that. I used to be routinely capable of get by way of a full 16-hour day of pretty mild utilization with between 50 and 60% left within the tank, which is roughly the expertise I had with the Poco F5 final yr.

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

With regards to extra intensive utilization, nonetheless, the Poco F6 drops properly in need of its predecessor. Its PCMark Work 3.0 Battery Check results of 10 hours and 26 minutes drops 3 hours and 35 minutes in need of the F5. Three guesses as to what the perpetrator for that is likely to be.

One curiosity is the Poco F6’s charging provision which has been boosted from 67W to an much more spectacular 90W, however I didn’t see any sort of improved charging instances.

Having run the telephone proper right down to empty and connected the (bundled in) 90W charger, I discovered that it took quarter-hour to get to about 41% and half-hour to get to 74%. That’s about the identical because the Poco F5 – slightly worse, even.

It hit a full cost in 48 minutes, which is analogous to its predecessor – although nonetheless not the half-hour that Xiaomi claims.

As soon as once more, there’s no wi-fi charging right here, although we wouldn’t anticipate that in a telephone of this value. The Pixel 7a and Pixel 8a are anomalies on this regard.

Software program & Apps

• Ships with Android 14
• New Xiaomi HyperOS, however similar to MIUI
• Three OS upgrades and 4 years of safety
• Hit or miss AI Air Gesture system

Regrettably, software program is as soon as once more a weak level with the Poco F6. Simply as with the Poco X6 Professional, this can be a telephone that runs Xiaomi’s new HyperOS on high of Android 14.

That is allegedly an all-new UI, with earlier Pocos having run on the outgoing MIUI. In follow, although, valuable little has modified. This merely seems like the subsequent model of MIUI with a brand new title.

You’re speaking a couple of acquainted house display with the customary Xiaomi time and climate widget and app icons. Most of stated icons on the first house display come from Xiaomi itself, with most of Google’s default purposes shoved away in a folder.

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Jon Mundy / Foundry

The second house display comprises extra purposes, together with a 3rd net browser in Opera. Xiaomi’s personal Mi Browser is on the primary homepage, simply a few inches above Google Chrome. Bloatware’s an issue alright, with a few Poco group apps, a Xiaomi good house app, a folder filled with horrible video games, and one other folder filled with unrequested third-party apps additionally included.

Flick down from the highest of the display and also you’ll get, relying on which aspect you swipe from, both notification centre or a shortcut-filled Management Centre (primarily the iPhone manner of doing issues). It’s removed from probably the most elegant resolution, particularly the latter eyeball-assaulting mass of toggles and widgets.

I additionally skilled a number of glitches and niggles right here. Just a few WhatsApp notifications didn’t manifest themselves, whereas I additionally skilled a mic difficulty after connecting a set of Bluetooth earphones, requiring me to show Bluetooth off earlier than I might converse to somebody on the telephone.

Poco has made one thing of an enormous deal a couple of sequence of AI enhancements, together with so-called ‘AI Air Gestures’. The concept is that the Poco F6’s entrance digicam will detect while you maintain your hand up in entrance of it, then reply to gestures you make to do issues like reply calls and management media playback.

The function is considerably buried within the Settings menu, and is slightly flaky when activated. Whereas the telephone would detect my raised hand fairly reliably (if not at all times immediately), the following gestures had been solely detected a number of the time. The entire course of was simply too inconsistent and sluggish to make it viable, and solely a few apps supported it – together with the default Music app, which I think only a few individuals will use forward of their chosen streaming app.

On a extra optimistic be aware, Xiaomi is promising three main Android OS updates and 4 years of safety patches. That’s respectable, if not fairly up there with Samsung and Google.

Value & Availability

It’s with nice pleasure, and no little shock, to notice that the Poco F6 is definitely cheaper than its predecessor. Considerably so, the truth is.

A part of that’s right down to a slight tinkering with reminiscence capacities, however solely slightly. Whereas the Poco F5 began from £449 for the only mannequin with 12GB of RAM and 256GB, the Poco F6 begins at £399 for 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.

There’s now a step-up possibility, too, which provides you 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage for £449. It’s this latter high mannequin that I’ve been testing.

As at all times with Poco releases, there are early hen gives available till Could 30, with the 256GB variant at the moment promoting for £339 from the official Mi retailer and Amazon. The 512GB is promoting for £369 from the identical retailers, although buying the latter from a Xiaomi web site will get you a present price £19.99.

Taking that £399 beginning value because the norm, the Poco F6 undercuts the Samsung Galaxy A55 and the Pixel 7a (which remains to be being offered) by £50, and the Pixel 8a by £100. It’s £50 greater than the Motorola Edge 50 Fusion and £30 greater than its cousin, the Poco X6 Professional.

Take a look at our chart of the most effective mid-range telephones for extra choices.

Must you purchase the Poco F6?

With the Poco F6, Xiaomi has caught resolutely to the trail it set out with earlier fashions. Every little thing right here is concentrated on attaining class-leading efficiency on a price range.

On these two fronts, specifically, it’s a powerful success. The Poco F6 is quicker than anything you’ll discover for this form of cash, and even £100 extra. In the meantime, it’s acquired a welcome value lower from the Poco F5.

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Additionally praiseworthy is the brand new 1.5K show, which is sharp, responsive, and colour-accurate. Battery life has taken a little bit of a success because of this although, not less than in relation to sustained or intensive utilization.

Elsewhere, the identical previous gripes maintain me from an unequivocal advice. The design is the same case of operate over type, the digicam set-up – whereas improved – remains to be properly in need of its rivals, and Xiaomi’s software program leaves a lot to be desired.

Nevertheless, in case your purpose is to get the most effective efficiency potential for the least sum of money potential (avid gamers on a price range take be aware), the Poco F6 resoundingly hits that candy spot.

Specs

• Android 14, HyperOS
• 6.67in, 1.5K, OLED, 120Hz, flat show
• In-display fingerprint sensor
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 3
• 8GB/12/16GB LPDDR5X RAM
• 256GB/512GB storage
• 50Mp, f/1.6 primary digicam
• 8Mp ultra-wide digicam
• As much as 4K @ 60fps rear video
• 20Mp front-facing digicam
• Stereo audio system
• Twin-SIM
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e
• Bluetooth 5.4
• 5000mAh battery
• 90W charging
• 160.5 x 74.4 x 7.8mm
• 179g
• Launch colors: Black, Inexperienced, Titanium